KANSAS CITY – When the Hickman football team left the field after a lopsided loss to Liberty two weeks ago, it was left with more questions than answers.
In the Kewpies second road game Friday night, the team's true character shined through, despite a 31-28 loss to Park Hill.
“We became a team tonight,” Hickman coach Jason Wright told his players. “Our motto has been that we’re pulling for each other on the same rope. The effort was there, the will was there, it was really just a play here and a play there that cost us.”
The story of the game was Hickman’s ability to answer Park Hill scores. Although the Trojans went ahead by 7 points just 20 seconds into the game, they never led by more than a touchdown.
“It gives our kids some confidence,” Wright said. “We know that we can play with anybody, they just have to believe in themselves.”
Park Hill’s running game wore out the Hickman defense all night long, but it ended up being a passing play on fourth down that cost the Kewpies. With the game tied at 28, Park Hill quarterback Corey Sterling completed a 41-yard pass down the left sideline that put his team in position to kick the winning field goal with only 13 seconds left.
An interception thrown by Hickman quarterback Matt Herman had given Park Hill the ball inside the 30-yard line with less than a minute to go.
“We’ve got to go back and just keep doing the same thing – work hard,” Herman said while fighting back tears after the loss.
Hickman plays next week on the road against Timberland.